The government teacher at my school has me hunting for very specific books. She is planning to start next year with literature circles around the theme "Arts as a response to government" and is missing a few key governments.

We are looking for books that fit that theme in the following government systems: fascism (she's a holocaust-obsessive and so would would prefer the Nazi brand), monarchy, and apartheid. She has already chosen books for communism (Mao's Last Dancer) and theocracy (Persepolis). It should be on a 9th-10th grade reading level at the HIGHEST, and most of our students really read on the 6th-7th grade level if not lower.

I offered up The Book Thief, but it was decided (not really by me) that it was a little too difficult and long to be a likely success, and we'd rather find an example involving the performing arts, anyway, since we're a PA school. So. Any suggestions?

P.S. Anathem was AWESOME.

Gris, here's a link detailing some South African writers: [link] I promptly thought of Athol Fugard, but Serote sounds very interesting.

an example involving the performing arts

I've never read it, but how about "Goodbye to Berlin", the short novel that eventually became "Cabaret"?

There are some obvious Holocaust books, like Art Spiegelman's Maus, Elie Wiesel's novels and Lois Lowry's Number the Stars. Would John Hersey's The Wall be too difficult?

Would a movie or play work? A Man for All Seasons comes to mind for monarchy. There's also the television film/play, Playing for Time, by Arthur Miller, based on a memoir of the Auschwitz orchestra. (That was controversial at the time for starring PLO sympathizer Vanessa Redgrave, but that could be part of the discussion.)

What about something about the McCarthy black list? There's Woody Allen's movie The Front. Lillian Helman's Scoundrel Time might be too difficult. It is theoretically a memoir, although there's a lot of fiction in it. The Crucible was, of course, Arthur Miller's response to McCarthyism.

Is this the new school, Gris?

Would Summer of My German Soldier count?

These students have already explored both Maus and Number the Stars in previous classes. I'll look at the Elie Wiesel stuff, and Summer of My German Soldier as well.

A play could definitely work. Does A Man for All Seasons have a major arts-related component?

I looked into "Goodbye to Berlin" already (great minds think alike!) but it looks like in the original, the Sally Bowles cabaret-based story is pretty disconnected from any study of the incoming Nazis. Plus, the language looks pretty difficult.

This is not the new school, it's my old one.

What about "The Hiding Place"?

The Devil's Arithmetic is also a good one. And somewhat crosses cirriculum, so there's that added bonus.

Maybe something based around Brundibar? The history of the opera itself, and/or the kids book that came out a few years ago.